Nikon D800 36.3 MP CMOS FX-Format Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)

by Nikon

• Extreme resolution 36.3-megapixel FX-format (35.9 x 24.0mm) CMOS sensor
• Full 1080p HD broadcast quality video and minimized rolling shutter
• View simultaneous Live View output on external monitors and record uncompressed video via HDMI terminal
• Multi-Area Full HD D-Movie Video Recording Mode
• Comprehensive high fidelity audio recording and playback control

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 3.2 x 4.8 inches ; 6.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0076AYNXM
• Item model number: 25480
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (263 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #239 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
  • #31 in Camera & Photo > Digital SLRs
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 6, 2012

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The Nikon D800

Every photo will astound. Every video will dazzle.

Hold in your hands an HD-SLR able to capture images rivaled only by those produced with a medium-format camera: extremely low noise, incredible dynamic range and the most faithful colors. Meet the Nikon D800, a 36.3 megapixel FX-format HD-SLR for professional photographers who require end results of the highest quality, who demand superior performance, speed, handling and a fully integrated imaging system. For cinematographers and multimedia professionals, 36.3 MP means true 1080p HD cinematic quality video. Inputs for stereo microphones and headphones, a peak audio meter display, DX crop mode to maximize NIKKOR lens selection and increase angle of view plus much more—the D800 is the essential tool for today's still and video professional.

D800 and D800E

Which is right for you?

Every Nikon DSLR camera uses an optical low pass filter (OLPF) in front of its sensor to slightly blur the image at a pixel level in order to reduce the occurrence of false colors and moiré that can appear when shooting repetitive and/or fine patterns. For the vast majority of photographers, the D800 provides an ideal balance between sharpness and effectively prevented moiré and false color, ideal for shooting using all file formats. D800E is a specialized camera that removes the "effect" of the OLPF, which results in a slight gain in sharpness and resolution and is recommended for studio and still life professionals but carries an increased possibility that moiré and false color will appear.

D800	D800E
Strikes an ideal balance between sharpness and preventing the occurrence of false color and moiré for consistent performance	Slight increase in sharpness and resolution with increased occurrence of false color and moiré
Ideal for: All shooting situations Photographers shooting RAW (NEF), JPG or TIFF images Photographers who do not want to adjust their workflow (via software) to mitigate the occurrence of moiré and false color	Ideal for: Studio, commercial and still life photographers who can control their shooting conditions, lens selection and aperture choice, as well as use of software (Capture NX2) to reduce the occurrence of false color and moiré Medium format photographers whose current digital system does not utilize an optical low pass filter Shooting RAW (NEF)

D800 and D800E: Comparison of false color and moiré

With the D800E, false color and moiré may be noticeable when shooting repetitive and/or fine patterns. Enlarge

D800 and D800E: Comparison of resolution

Compared to the D800, the D800E reproduces textures with slightly higher resolution for sharper rendering and greater depth. Enlarge

What else is different?

Other than the very slight image quality differences described above, the D800 and D800E perform exactly the same. Focus speed, exposure metering, shooting speed, movie recording, accessory compatibility, control location and function, and all other aspects are identical.

Reveal every nuance, every detail

The 36.3 megapixel FX-format advantage

Wedding, commercial or landscape, the D800 is the ultimate 36.3 MP FX-format camera for creative genius. Witness tonal range and precision rendered to supreme clarity, depth and texture. Make poster sized prints without sacrificing detail. Explore creative opportunities with ISO 100 to 6,400 (expanded up to 25,600)—shoot from dawn to dusk. Experience Nikon's new Advanced Scene Recognition System featuring a 91,000-pixel RGB light meter capable of rendering unprecedented levels of accuracy to AF, AE, i-TTL flash control, face recognition and auto white balance. Nikon's new EXPEED 3 image processing reduces color phase shifts seen with lesser systems, producing more faithful colors and tones while managing massive amounts of data at breakthrough speed. With the D800 in your hands, achieve what was once unreachable.

Broadcast quality video

A full cinematic experience

Filmmakers, multimedia professionals and event photographers—record Full HD 1080p at 30/25/24p or 720p at 60/50p in AVC-HD format. Produce to your exacting vision when working in manual mode, controlling aperture, ISO, AF and shutter speed. Record uncompressed files via HDMI to an external recording device via HDMI. Widen production perspective using either Nikon FX or DX lens formats at Full HD 1080p and 16:9 aspect ratio. Attach headphones and check audio levels or monitor input via peak audio meters as displayed on the camera's LCD monitor. Microphone sensitivity can be adjusted in up to 20 steps. Remotely start and stop video. Simultaneously Live View footage on the camera's LCD monitor and external monitor during recording are possible.

Render every megapixel with precision

Fast, precise 51-point wide area coverage

Precise AF detection is critical to sharply render every pixel of the D800's massive resolution count. An improved 51- point AF system with 15 Cross Type AF sensors, versatile AF area modes and superb AF detection in even the dimmest lighting deliver immediate, pinpoint focus. Fast shot-to-shot time, full resolution frame rate up to 4 fps, 6 fps in DX crop mode using MB-D12 Multi-Power Battery Pack and ultra fast CF and SD card write times. For more productive workflow, high-speed data transfer using USB 3.0 is realized. For demanding professionals, the D800 responds immediately and precisely.

Versatile shooting, fluid operation

Streamlined ergonomic design puts critical tasks a touch away

Intuitive design makes D800 operation a thing of beauty. A streamlined ergonomic body allows critical photography and video tasks, including Movie Record, Live View, White Balance and Picture Control to be performed at the touch of a button. Confirm image capture and view menu options, histograms, video settings and more using the D800's super sharp 3.2-inch 921,000-dot LCD screen with 100% coverage. Anti-glare coating and auto brightness control ease of viewing, no matter the environment. Enlarge images up to 46x for on-the-spot focus confirmation. Magnesium alloy construction and environmental sealing make the D800 as comfortable in the field as in the studio.

EXPEED 3 image processing

Nikon's EXPEED 3 technology extends and assures breathtakingly rich image fidelity and reduces noise, even at high ISO's. EXPEED 3 is so powerful that it handles data-intensive tasks such as Full-HD video recording at 30p with ease.

Rich image previewing

The D800's 3.2-inch super-sharp 921,000-dot LCD monitor automatically adjusts LCD brightness and visibility according to your environment for bright, crisp image playback, menu adjustment and Live View shooting. Enlarge images up to 46x to make on the spot focus confirmation—crucial for high resolution shooting.

Expand dynamic range with built-in HDR

Create a single image revealing an extremely wide dynamic range, but with less noise and rich color gradation than ever before. Combine two exposures at up to 3EV.

Dedicated picture control button

The convenient Picture control button provides six preset options: Vivid, Monochrome, Neutral, Standard, Landscape and Portrait for stills and video while 9 customizable settings provide advanced, personalized color control.

Product Description

Hold in your hands an HD-DSLR able to capture images rivaled only by that produced by a medium-format camera: extremely low noise, incredible dynamic range, the most faithful colors, the broadest tonal range. Meet the Nikon D800, a 36.3 megapixel FX-format D-SLR for professional photographers who require end results of the highest quality; who demand superior performance, speed, handling and a fully integrated imaging system. For multimedia professionals, 36.3MP means true 1080p HD cinematic quality video. The essential tool for today’s still and video professional, every photo will astound, every video will dazzle.What's in the box: Nikon D800 SLR Digital Camera (Body Only), EN-EL15 Lithium-Ion Battery (1900mAh) , MH-25 Quick Charger for EN-EL15 Battery 1 Year Warranty, DK-17 Finder Eyepiece (Replacement),UC-E14 USB Cable, USB Cable Clip, Camera Strap, BM-12 LCD Monitor Cover, BF-1B Body Cap, BS-1 Hot-Shoe Cover, ViewNX 2 CD-ROM and 1-Year Limited Warranty.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

373 of 384 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A clear improvement over the already excellent D700 April 10, 2012

By M. Billon

I know that the D800 is not really the replacement model over the D700. Nevertheless, it did replace my old D700 and the D800 is, I believe, better suited for my photographic needs than the D700, i.e., studio, portraits, and landscape.

The D700 was and still is an outstanding DSLR. The D800 is of course better, but in a very perceptible way, which was quite a surprise to me.
I have done over 5000 shots since my purchase on 24 March. So far, no issues to report: no green cast from the LCD and no problems with the CLS system.
Nikon has really outperformed with this new DSLR and the clear improvements are:
- Much improved Dynamic Range, which was my main problem since my first DSLR
- Better colors straight off the camera: deeper and richer
- Better AF in low light ***UPDATE*** After comparing with older Nikon DSLRs, this improvement is minor and only perceptible on cross-type AF points.
- Highly detailed photographs at full res, 100% magnification and also when down-scaling the photos.
Let's not forget a proper and useable HD video feature at broadcasting quality. ***UPDATE*** Perhaps not broadcasting quality, but close enough.

On the negative side (there has to be some):
- The zoom in and zoom out buttons are reversed from the old models, which is now more logical, but I am used to the old wrong way! it's a minor problem of course.
- D4 has backlit buttons, why not on the D800? This can't be that expensive to include.
- Very expensive Battery pack, this is a major drawback for me. But yes, the D800 is well priced at $3000. I just hate ridiculously priced accessories.
- still wonder the point of having 1 CF slot and 1 SD slot. 2 CF slots would have been superb. But I guess if you come from a SD card DSLR, that would be practical for you.
- Left AF points can suffer from front/back focusing issues on wide angle lenses, but this can be fixed at a Nikon repair center under warranty ***UPDATE***

One crucial point that has to be considered when acquiring a 36MP DSLR: storage will be an issue. I just purchased a 4TB ext hard drive. A 14-bit RAW file (uncompressed) coming from the D800 will average 75MB.

I just shot a wedding, and I consider the D800 to be an excellent choice for the job. All the complains about shots being more blurry at 100% magnification are irrelevant. One has to be precise with his/her settings, at the right exposure and optimal shutter speed, results can be absolutely mind-blowing. And since most won't need 36MP for wedding photographs, down-scaling images will certainly eliminate slight camera-shake or noise.

One particular aspect that I appreciate is that my Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G is now tack-sharp at f/1.4. I had a front focusing issue with my old D700 even with the fine-tune option set to max. Since I'm no techie geek, I still don't understand why the D700 gave me problems with the 85mm.

Anyway, I used to be one of those people saying that digital photography will never replace film photography. The D800 has changed all that.

276 of 299 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Best Landscape DSLR April 26, 2012

By Emmanuel

Amazon Verified Purchase

...

********* Update 04/15/2013 *********

After a year of ownership with two bodies, here are my final thoughts:

This is the best landscape or studio DSLR in the market. Other than not having custom User Settings (U1, U2, U3) like the D600, D7000, and Canon DSLRs, this camera has the great ergonomics, the camera has buttons to control the most used functions and the DOF, AE Lock, Cust Func, are highly customizable.

For wedding, amateur sports, or anything that requires accurate consistent AF look elsewhere. I have had both bodies and a replacement body (serial 3041XXX) "fixed" by Nikon and they feel the latest fixes are good enough. Good enough, I did not invest $18,000 in to a system for good enough! Without getting into the whole Left Side AF saga, which is readily available on other reviews and websites, the continuous AF (FW A: 1.01/B:1.02 and using the center AF sensor) is horribly inconsistent. If shooting in the F/1.4 -2.0 range expect 1 out of 10 perfectly focused, 2 out of 10 acceptable, and 7 out of 10 throwaways with a person walking towards the camera at a slow or medium pace.

I switched to Canon and took a huge hit financially by selling my entire Nikon collection and buying new Canon equipment, however, my Canon 5dMkIIIs get 6 out 10 perfectly focused, 3 out of 10 acceptable, and 1 throwaway.

Nikon did many things better than Canon, spot metering is based on AF point and not just the center, AF points are always illuminated, buttons have more customization options available, Auto ISO is more intelligent, superior dynamic range, and the AF selecting wheel is not as finicky. And obviously Nikon's megapixel advantage is nice for cropping, although 12 MP is more than enough for 99.5% of printing, it is nice being able to crop heavily in post. I really wanted this camera to work, in fact my cameras made over ten trips to Nikon service centers in CA and NY, and they never got them to work, their CS is beyond atrocious and incompetent.

The Canon's sensor seems like 2008 tech, but as I mentioned the AF performance is amazing. I would rather have a focused image taken by an average sensor, than a blurred image taken by a sensor with all the dynamic range and megapixels in the world. Average in today's terms is still amazing, I just have to be more careful and ensure accurate exposure.

BOTTOM LINE:
If you are a photographer that uses Zeiss lenses for landscape, or only use the center AF in the aperture range of 5.6-16 and then recompose in a studio or controlled environment, this camera will amaze you. However, if you shoot wide open with fast primes and not getting the "shot" puts yourself or company at risk, look into another camera (i.e. D4, D3s, Canon 1 Series, 5D MK3).

********* ********* ********* *********

...
See that my purchase is verified by Amazon. Below are my observations after one month of ownership.

Pros:
+ Resolution: With the right lenses and on the right settings the detail is astonishing.
+ Dynamic Range: Incredible, when shooting in lower ISO's it is near impossible to ruin a photo. Search the internet "fred miranda d800 review Yosemite" to see real life comparisons.
+ Color: Adobe profiles in LR and ACR are horrible, create custom profiles using a X-Rite ColorChecker Passport Software and then tweak it with Adobe DNG profiler for better colors.
+ AutoWB: Works well in about 70% of lighting scenarios, somewhat better than the D3/D700. *** See Tip Below ***
+ Low ISO: Having a true 100 ISO is godsend for on-location lighting setups.
+ High ISO: The D800 and LR4 do an excellent job in controlling noise. Using PS plugins a properly exposed image can print acceptable 6x9's at 12800 ISO (max for D3/D700's is 6400).
+ Tonality: With a good camera profile in LR4, the tonal range rivals Fujifilm 400H Film. This is incredibly useful on portraits with 4-1 or greater lighting ratios. Posterization in the shadows (DSLRs Achilles' heel) is only noticeable on highly manipulated images.
+ Handling: The auto ISO is easy to engage and the new position of the ISO button is more intuitive when looking through the viewfinder than on the D700. Like the D700, the D800 is extremely customizable.

Neutral:
~ Handling: I prefer the AF switches of the D700. The magnification + - are opposite from the D700, a small irritation.
~ Exposure: Better than D3/D700, but far from perfect. Contrary to Nikon's literature, it struggles with backlit scenes.
~ Frames per second: I rarely shoot in continuous, and when I do, I have my D3/D700 set to CL (continuous low-speed) of 2 FPS.
~ Battery Performance: It can get me through a full day's shoot if I avoid extensive LiveView or WiFi use, otherwise I need to use a backup battery.
~ Autofocus: The AF is very similar to the D3/D700, good but could have been better.

Cons:
- Software: Nikon software can produce excellent results, but it is clunky and slow.
- Handling: The mode selector button is awkwardly placed. I prefer the D7000 U1/U2 style custom banks.
- JPEG: Lacking when compared to Olympus, Panasonic, and Canon. ALWAYS SHOOT RAW!
- Autofocus: 1.) All 51 points are still too centrally located 2.) No increase in cross-type sensors over the D3/D700 3.) All the cross-type AF sensors are in the middle. 4.) Like the D3/700, the outer sensors are near useless in low lit, low contrast situations.
- LiveView: There is a well reported bug when using LiveView at 100% viewing, although I am still able to focus, I heard that is a deal-breaker for many landscape shooters. I have no idea how people survived 100 years of film or shoot $20k+ Hasselblad's. <Sarcasm>

*** TIP *** Remove the dreaded Nikon green cast by shifting the WB Fine-Tune (pg. 149) 1 or 2 points toward Magenta on each (AutoWB, Custom, Shade, Daylight, etc..) WB setting and get much better results short of using a QP Card 202/203 or X-Rite Passport for every scene change.

Summary:
Using proper technique, the images this camera produces are superior to any camera I ever shot. Would I jump systems for this camera? If I owned a large collection of top-tier gear, NO! Otherwise, I would consider it if I was not too invested. Does it equal or better Medium Format? There are differences in perspective, defraction limits, DOF, FOV, and CANNOT BE COMPARED.

Having shot Canon (AE-1, 630, A2, Elan II, 20D, 40D, 5D mkI & mkII, 1D's), Nikon (FM, F4, F100, D200, D300s, D7000, D700, D800, D3), Fuji (S3, S5), Mamiya (645, RB67), and Hasselblad (H4D-40), I know that they are excellent tools that are capable of creating amazing images. Pick the one that best fits your needs and go out and shoot.

846 of 944 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Unbiased Review of 5DmkIII vs D800 April 4, 2012

By se

I'm a Sony shooter with only a few lenses. I use to shoot Canon during the film days. I tested both the Canon 5D mkIII and the Nikon D800 and here are my results. I tested a 5DmkIII with a 24-70 f2.8 lens and a Nikon D800 (not D800e) with a 24-70 f2.8 lens.

High ISO:
About the same, except D800 has a lot more detail to work with. In Lightroom, I can save a higher percentage of ISO 6400 shots because the D800 has more detail. Canon seems cleaner initially in Lightroom but when the picture fits into a 24" 1920x1080 monitor or a 64" Samsung plasma TV, the Nikon looks a tad cleaner, noise less noticeable. I think the Canon looks cleaner in Lightroom because it is just a smaller picture. But displaying ISO 6400 shots on a monitor or TV, Nikon looks nicer in general. Both cameras at ISO 12,800 look awful and not recoverable in Lightroom. It might look acceptable as a really small pic but why the heck would you buy an expensive camera to display crappy looking pictures?

Frames per second:
Easy winner. Canon can shoot 6 FPS, Nikon 4 FPS. However, in practice I think 4 FPS is pretty good. None of these cameras are really Olympic style sports cameras.

Resolution:
Easy winner. Nikon's RAW files are more detailed, almost 3D like. I can't really explain it other than the pictures look more real. I can crop a photo to 1/3 it's size (12 megapixels) and it still looks stunning. I wonder how much better the D800e version is. I'll have to wait until my friend receives his to find out.

JPEG:
Easy winner. Out of the camera, the Canon JPEGs are phenomenal. The processing done is quite remarkable.

RAW:
Easy winner. If you shoot RAW, Nikon is it. Also there is an issue with the Canon with the color red. I think the color is overblown at times because all the details are loss and not recoverable in Lightroom. Not always but it has happened at least twice. The same photo on the Nikon kept all the details.

Autofocus:
About the same. Canon and Nikon have awesomely quick autofocus and I couldn't determine a difference. The only caveat is that Nikon focuses better in lowlight (without the autofocus assist lamp) and also the Nikon focuses when there is almost no light (with the autofocus assist lamp). Why the heck doesn't Canon include an autofocus assist lamp is beyond me. Also, Nikon's face detection is extremely useful because it focuses right on the eyeballs.

Flash:
Easy winner. Canon doesn't have built in flash. Nikon flash worked surprisingly well.

Dynamic Range:
Easy winner. Nikon knocked it out of the park. I got a lot less blown highlights with shots with white clothing and more realistic blue skys. Also, there is a lot more headroom on both the highlights and shadows on the Nikon when editing in Lightroom. How did Nikon have better shadows and highlights! They have to share some of that technology!

Video:
Suprisingly about the same. I would have thought that Canon's lead in video would maintain. Surprisingly, the Nikon's video was just as awesome as the Canon. Nikon's video has a bit more detail and is definitely a little sharper than the Canon. I didn't test Nikon's uncompressed HDMI out, although it seems to be a useful feature (this is like RAW HDMI output for video). Canon should adopt uncompressed HDMI out also.

Price:
Easy winner. Why anyone (who doesn't already have Nikon or Canon lenses) would buy this Canon for $500 more than the Nikon would need to think twice. I can see why the Nikon is selling so much better than the Canon, at least on Amazon.

Comfort:
Both about the same weight. Both feel nice in the hand. Canon possibly slightly more comfortable if you have bigger hands. Nikon maybe more comfortable with smaller hands. Both are fine though.

USB transfer:
Nikon wins with USB 3.0. Skipping the card reader altogether by just plugging in the camera to the computer is convenient. Also the transfer speed is much much faster than Canon's older USB 2.0. This saves a lot of time.

LCD Screen:
Canon has slightly better screen in direct sunlight (LCD facing up towards the sun). Nikon is better when the LCD is not directly facing the sun. Nikon's screen is crisper and more 3D like.

Weatherproofing:
My last day of shooting was in a light mist/drizzle. I was shooting both cameras again for about 20 minutes when the Canon 5D mkIII developed some fogging inside the viewfinder screen. I could not wipe it away as it seemed to be inside the camera. I could no longer take pictures normally without live view. Nikon didn't have this problem and I continued to shoot the rest of the day with the Nikon in the same wet conditions without issue. I had planned to shoot at least 2 weeks with both cameras so this was definitely a bummer.

Lenses:
Both Canon and Nikon's 24-70 2.8 lenses are great. I would say the Canon 24-70 2.8 is just a tad faster on focus. Nikon is slightly sharper in the corners. Both Nikon and Canon seem to have a very comparable lens assortment (although my wallet won't be happy buying so many new lenses!)

Well, after using both cameras for about a week, I kept the Nikon D800 and returned my (possibly water damaged) Canon 5D mkIII. Both are phenomenal cameras but D800 has definitely outclassed the 5D mkIII in this round. Maybe Canon will come back strong with its next version. It definitely has some catching up to do.

Thanks for reading my review and I'll also post this on the Nikon D800 and Canon 5D mkIII review page. Best of luck to all you photogs and enjoy these phenomenal cameras!